Semiautomatic sole-edge inking machine



Nov. 2l, 1950 E:.J. RAY

is,1-:MIAuTon/1AT1c SOLE -EDGE INKING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Sept. 5, 1947 Inventor Eugene J Ray Nov. 21, 1950 E. J. RAY

SEMIAUTOMATIC SOLE-EDGE INKING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed sept. 5, 1947 Eye l l I Inventor Eugene J Ray Nov. 21, 1950 E. J. RAY 2,530,585

SEMIAUTOMATIC SOLE-EDGE INKING MACHINE Filed Sept. 5, 1947 4 Sheets-Sheet 25 la I I; f': 16a l mnnnnnnnnnnnnss Nov. 21, 1950 E. J. RAY 2,530,585

SEMIAUTOMATIC SOLE-EDGE INKING MACHINE Filed Sept. 5, 1947 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 \f Inventar j Eugene J Ray 0 i By /zey Patented Nov. 21, 1950 UNITED STATES PAirarrrg oFPicE SEMIAUTOMATIC SOLE-EDGE. INKING MACHINE' Eugene: J. Ray, Beverly, Mass., assigner to Unitedv Shoe Machinery Corporation.,` Flemington, N. (L,A a, corporation of New Jersey Application September 5, 194.7', Serial No. "172,311f1f`v 2 Claims. 1

This invention relates. te,A machines for coating the: peripheral portion of an unattached; sole and is herein illustrated as embodiedV in a machine of the type disclosed in Letters Patent of the United States No, 2,351,471, grantedSeptember i944, on an application of A. L; Jalbert'.` The patented machine is particularly intended for applying ink or stai-ri to the periphery and sometimesA to the adjacent margin of an unattached sole...

Machines of this type are employed when itis desired to prenish the edge of an unattached sole. and are. organized tol operate substantially automatically by employing opposed feed rolls arranged to grip the. opposite sides of the sole as it is held ina vertical plane. The operator usually faces the end ofV one feed roll and hence the side face of a sole and the rolls act: toy carry the periphery forwardly to the left of the operator while pressing it against an abutment offset from the work engaging` surfaces of the feed rolls, this abutment comprising a coating roll which dips in coating material such as` ink contained in a receptacle beneath it. The coacting ends of the feed rolls are frusta-conical with the axes dipped downwardly and rearwardly thereby forming a V-shaped sole-receiving space. The commonv practice is te hold a sole in the right hand with the heel portion thereof toward the rolls and te bring it into engagement with the feed rolls which thereupon grasp it and carry it around the whole or as much of the periphery as is desired. The operator then with his left hand grasps one end of the sole inside of the coated portion and pulls it away from the feed rolls, one of which is resiliently urged toward the other.

One important object of the invention is to provide an improved machine which will facilitate the presentation of work to, and its removal from the machine and which at the same time will operate more satisfactorily with work which is thin or flimsy.

To this end and in accordance with features of the invention the machine is provided with guides, herein shown as forming part of the housing for the machine, which facilitate the presentation of soles to the feed rolls and with a guard adjacent to and in the plane of a side of the ink roll which aids the presentation of thin or flimsy soles so that they d0 not'tend to enter the space between one feed roll and the side of the ink roll.

Other features of the invention will be recog- Vnized in the novel arrangement for changing the initial position, of a carrier for the feed roll axially to determine the initial distance between the feed rolls in accordance with the; average thickness of solesj to be treated.V The arrangement is such that this adjustment does not, alter the tension of a spring pressing the roll endwise and variation of that tension is also provided for.

These and other features of the invention are more specifically described in the following specification takenv in connection with the accompanying drawings in which Fig,` l isa front elevation of the: complete machine;

Fig. 2 is a similar view., on a much larger scale, of thehead of the machine with the covers. therefor shown in section;

Fig. 3 is a left side elevation of this same head;

Fig. 4 is a vertical section on a still larger scale on the axes of the feed rolls;

Fig. 5 is a detail, in plan, of the scraper for the ink roll;

Fig. 6 is a detail front elevation of a guide plate associated with this scraper; and

Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic view to indicate the relation of the feed rolls and the ink roll in side elevation.

As in the machine illustrated in the Jalbert Patent 2,357,471 to which reference has been made above, the peripheral edge of a sole S is presented substantially automatically to an undriven inking roll' Iii by means of feed rolls I2 and Id. having frusto-conical end faces I6 and I8 (Fig. il respectively. The axes of these rolls slope downwardly and rearwardly and consequently the end faces of the rolls are spaced at their top edgesl forming a V-shaped gap into which a sole may readily be inserted. The coacting portions of said end faces,v driven in the direction of the arrows, urge a sole down against the ink roll I0 and cause the sole to move forward, thus frictionally rotating the ink roll to transfer ink to the sole edge. The feed roll I2 is made of rubber or the equivalent and hence is yielding. The other feed roll I4 is rigid and has teeth on its end face I8 which are disposed forwardly of corresponding radii by angles of about twenty degrees, thus improving the feeding action. The feed roll I4 is journaled in an arm 2Q (Fig. 2) of a yoke 22 which is provided, Aat its left side, with a pivot pin 2d on which there swings a bell-crank 26 having an upstanding arm carrying the other feed roll I2.

The yoke 22 is supported by a bracket 28 (Fig. 3) which is capable of heightwise adjustment and iS then Secured by Screws 40, 42y to the side Vface of a box 30 supported upon a cap 32 which forms the head of a hollow column 34 (Fig. 1). This column is carried upon a base 35. It will be noted from Fig. 3 that the yoke 22 is adjustable transversely of the bracket 28, by reason of a slot and screw connection 29, to bring the feed roll I4 directly above a flange 38 on the ink roll I0 (as shown in Figs. 2 and 4), which carries ink on its left side, for use in those cases in which it is desired to apply ink to the margin of the flesh surface of the sole as well as to its periphery. This transverse adjustment may also be used to position soles centrally of the ink roll when only their edges are to be coated. By proper heightwise adjustment of the feed rolls with respect to the ink roll, a weak or flabby sole may be handled without undue bending of the edge, such as might result from the pressure with which the feed rolls drive the edge of the sole against the ink roll, or a thick sole may be handled without danger of whipping it out of the grip of the feed rolls by adjusting the latter to grip the sole inwardly of its edge.

The feeding of the sole is effected, just as in the J albert patented machine, by an operator, facing the left side and viewing the machine as in Fig. 3. Ordinarily a sole S will be presented to the inachine in the position shown at 44 (Fig. 7) and will be carried forwardly substantially automatically around the toe end of the sole until it reaches the position indicated at 4S, whereupon, unless the heel end also is to be inked, the forepart of the sole will be grasped between the fingers of the left hand of the operator and removed to a suitable supporting rack (not shown) while the right hand is used to pick up another sole and present it to the machine.

The mounting of the feed rolls is shown more in detail in Fig. 4. There it will be seen that the feed roll I4 is threaded to the left end of a shaft having a pinion 52 at its other end. In tightening the roll on the shaft, a spacing sleeve 54 will be brought against one end of the inner race 56 of a ball bearing 58 while the opposite end of the race is pressed against a shoulder on the shaft 58. The outer race of this ball bearing is clamped in a ring-like portion Eil'jat the upper end of the yoke arm 2). Journaled on a stud in this same arm is a driving pulley 62 which has a gear 94 meshing with the pinion 52.

Similarly, in a ring-like portion 68 of the upper end of the bell-crank supporting member there is clamped a ball bearing 68, the inner race 1|! of which is clamped between a shoulder l2 on a carrier sleeve 74 and the projecting end or hub of a pulley 'I6 which is threaded on the sleeve. The rubber feed roll I2 has a base or hub i8 threaded on the end of a shaft 80 slidably fitting the inside of the sleeve i4 and rotating with it. This carrier sleeve is provided with opposite slots 82 to receive therends of a cross pin 84 passing through'the shaft so that the sleeve and shaft rotate together. The limit of endwise movement of the feed roll shaft 8U to the right as viewed in Fig. 4, and hence its initial axial position before a piece of work is inserted, is determined by the engagement of the pin 84 with a stop provided by the inside of a cupped end 95 of a sleeve 88. This cupped end slides on the sleeve i4 and its separation from the pulley 'FE is set by a screw pin 98 threaded in an outstanding flange 92 on the sleeve 88.

When the machine is at rest it is possible, by rotating this screw pin 90, to determine the mini- -mum separation of the feed roll I2 from the feed roll I4 in accordance with the thickness 0f lil the soles to be handled. This separation will be understood to be slightly less than the average thickness of the soles. It is desired also to have the feed roll I2 press yieldingly against the soles and to that end a spring 94 surrounding the carrier sleeve 'I4 presses at one end against a grooved collar 98 engaging the pin 84 and at the other end against an adjustment sleeve 98 which is threaded in the inside of the stop sleeve 88 and is movable to a plurality of Xed positions where it is held by a locknut |99. Knurled portions on the periphery of the sleeve 98 and locknut I9 and the flange 92 facilitate the manual operation of these parts. The result is that the spring tension may be changed independently of the endwise position of the cross pin 84 and hence of the feed roll I2. It will also be seen that this position may be independently determined without varying the tension of the spring 94.

The feed rolls I2 and I4 are driven in the direction of the arrows shown in Fig. 4 by means of an endless belt |92 encircling the pulleys 15 and 62. The nearby runs of this driving belt |02 encircle an idler pulley |94 (Fig. 2) adjustably carried by an arm secured on the cap 32 of the column. The other runs of the belt encircle a driven pulley |88 mounted on a countershaft I lil (Fig. 3) which is journaled in the box 3|] and has a spiral gear connection to a drive shaft ||2 also journaled in that box and connected by a belt II4 to a motor HS (Fig. 1) carried by a vertically adjustable pedestal H8 which is supported on the base 3S.

To avoid the possible smooching of inked soles in removing them from the machine and to eliminate special care on the part of the operator, provision is made for separating the feed rolls when presenting a piece of work to the machine or withdrawing it. To this end, the machine is provided with a treadle |28 (Fig. 1) tiltable on the base 35, and connected by a rod |22 to a lever |24 which is pivoted at one end to a depending bracket |28 secured to the cap 32 of the column. A spring |28 interposed between a stop |98 on the column and a collar |32 on the rod i 22 tends always to lift the treadle when it is released by the operator and pushes the lever |24 upward. This lever is connected by a rod |34, having an adjustable length, to the end of the pivoted bell-crank 25 which carries the feed roll I2. The tiltable movement of this bell-crank to carry one roll endwise toward the other feed roll is limited by the engagement of a lug |36 thereon (Fig. 2) with a boss |38 on the yoke 22.

Ink, stain, or other coating material is supplied to the applying roll by journaling the latter in the side walls of a trough |40 (Fig. 3) which extends forwardly and to the right where it merges with a cup |42 which is provided with spring fingers |44 to support an inverted bottle |46 having a valve |48 which opens when the bottle seats in its inverted position. These inl: carrying parts are all removable from the machine and when in operative position are located by the engagement of one side of a base plate |58 thereon (Fig. 2) in a dovetail groove |52 formed at the upper right-hand corner of the box 39. They are held in this position by a pivoted clamp |54 forced into engagement with the other side of the base plate |50 by a hand screw |56. The position of the trough |49 and hence of the applying roll I!) from front to rear of the machine is determined by an adjustable stop screw |69 (Fig. 3) threaded in a lug |62 formed on one side of the trough and held in adjusted position by a ioeknut. The head of this screw engages a stop surface |64 on the yoke 22 which carries the feed rolls. Control of the feeding action is thus effected by adjusting the screw |60, thus varying the relation between the abutment or inking roll and the feed rolls. It will be noted that the cup |42 has a pouring spout |66 (Fig. 3) to facilitate the pouring out of any liquid remaining at the end of the days operations.

The quantity of ink carried up by the applying roll is determined by a scraper plate |10 (Fig. which is slidable in a groove at the top of the trough |40 and is yieldably held therein by spring fingers |12 overlying the plate. At its end the scraper has a down-turned slotted portion |14 (Fig. 6) which receives the shank of an adjusting screw |16 threaded in the end of the trough. These retaining springs |12 are mounted on the trough |40 by means of screws |18 and the screws on the right are used also to secure in position a guide plate |80 which extends upwardly and forwardly, to the left in Fig. 3, to bring it to a position adjacent to the space between the feed roll I4 and the flange 38 of the applying roll By this guide, soles of flimsy stock are prevented from being deflected to the outside of the flange 38 of the applying roll.

To protect the operator from getting caught in the moving parts of the machine, hinged covers |84, |86 are mounted on pivot screws at the top edges of the cap 32 leaving a space between the adjacent edges of the covers sufficient to enable the operator to present soles to the machine. Help for a fast working operator is alforded by curving the adjacent top portions of these covers downwardly to form a groove |90 which enables the operator to present soles to the feed rolls without having to actually look at the machine. This considerably increases production because the operator can feed soles to the machine substantially automatically with his right hand while using his left hand to remove soles by grasping the opposite faces of the toe portion of the sole within the inked edge, and if there be one, within the margin.

In the operation of the machine changes will rst be made by the operator, if necessary, to determine the inward idle position of the feed roll |2 in accordance with the weight (thickness) of the soles to be handled, by turning the screw pin 90 (Fig. 4). He will also vary, if necessary, the tension of the spring 94 by turning the abutment sleeve 98. The motor drive may then be set in operation and the quantity of ink taken up by the idle applying roll I0 may be controlled by turning the screw |16 associated with the scraper |10. If necessary the position of the trough and hence of the applying roll with respect to the feed rolls may be determined by the abutment screw |60 (Fig. 3). At rare intervals it may be necessary to adjust the position of the feed rolls and hence the yoke laterally of the machine by loosening the clamp screw 29 or by loosening the clamp screws 40 and 42 to adjust the yoke heightwise of the machine. Pieces of work may then be presented rapidly to the feed rolls and removed after the whole periphery, or as much thereof as is. desired, has been treated. Such presentation and removal are `made easier by depressing the treadle as each sole is completed and then releasing it to allow the feed rolls to grip the next sole.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. In a machine for traversing a sole peripherally to ink its edge, an arm, a driven feed roll carried thereon, a cooperating feed roll, an upstanding arm supporting said cooperating roll, said feed rolls being journaled in the upper ends of said arms in positions to engage the opposite sides of the sole, an ink roll oset from the workengaging surfaces of said feed rolls against the surface of which the periphery of the sole is moved, a sleeve journaled in said pivoted arm, a shaft carrying one of the feed rolls slidable longitudinally in said sleeve and restrained to rotate therewith, means for rotating the sleeve thereby to rotate the shaft, a spring on the sleeve urging the shaft in a direction to hold the feed roll in engagement with the sole, and a stop movable on the sleeve to fixed positions thereby to limit axial movement of the shaft in the upstanding arm.

2. In a machine for traversing a sole peripherally to ink its edge, an arm, a driven feed roll carried thereon, a cooperating feed roll, an upstanding arm supporting said cooperating roll and mounted on a pivot for tilting movement to and from the other arm to facilitate presentation of the work, a spring to hold said arm in operative position, said feed rolls being journaled in the upper ends of said arms in positions to engage the opposite sides of the sole, an ink roll offset from the work-engaging surfaces of said feed rolls against the surface of which the periphery of the sole is moved, a sleeve journaled in said pivoted arm, a shaft carrying one of the feed rolls slidable longitudinally in said sleeve and restrained to rotate therewith, means for rotating the sleeve thereby to rotate the shaft, a spring urging the shaft in a direction to hold the feed roll in engagement with the sole, a stop settable on the sleeve to limit axial movement of the shaft in the upstanding arm, a member to determine the position of said stop, and an abutment movable to plural fixed positions on said stop to regulate the tension of said spring, the position of said abutment being unaffected by movement of the stop on the sleeve.

EUGENE J. RAY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number AName Date 2,191,646 Doyle Feb. 27, 1940 2,265,856 Reed et al Dec. 9, 1941 2,357,471 Jalbert Sept. 5, 1944 

